NHL's expansion plans mean there'll just be more bad teams

Published 4:00 am, Wednesday, January 22, 1997

THE SCARIEST result of the NHL's plan to expand from 26 to 30 teams is that it will have to draw from an even more watered-down talent pool.

The league's Board of Governors is reviewing 11 applications from nine cities that want an expansion franchise. An announcement to add two teams by 1998 could come anywhere between the middle of next month and the postseason. Two additional teams are expected to be added at a later date.

This comes at a time when only nine teams posted winning records at the All-Star break. Almost twice as many teams (17) were at .500 or less. Only runaway Colorado (28-11-8) had a winning mark in the Pacific Division, which includes the Sharks (16-23-5).

One school of thought suggests parity is good for the game.

"Look at the point totals in each conference," Blues star forward Brett Hull said. "There's so few that separate each team that it's any team can beat any other team."

It also suggests the league has expanded too quickly, exhausting all of the available talent. The Sharks, part of the league's "Original 22," are only 6 years old. But that's already older than four other franchises - Anaheim, Florida, Ottawa and Tampa Bay.

The combined 19 seasons of play for those five teams have produced two winning campaigns and 10 last-place finishes. San Jose and Ottawa were two of the four last-place teams at the break again.

Could it get worse with expansion? Commissioner Gary Bettman doesn't think so.

"The cries of gloom and doom may be an overreaction," Bettman said. "There are periods when we'll see issues raised in the media that are the flavor of the week. One issue gets focused on . . . and it's like we have a crisis.

"One of the issues we have to consider in the expansion process is what is the availability of player talent," he added. "We're going to have to evaluate whether the product on the ice will be adversely affected."

Bettman was quick to point out in San Jose during the All-Star break that, by comparison, in January of 1987, only eight of 21 teams were above .500, and none of the franchises in the old Norris Division had a winning record.

Which may say one of two things. The problem is cyclical or the NHL hasn't learned anything from its past.

Home, bleak home

The Blackhawks are the only team with a worse record at home than the Sharks. And their coach, Craig Hartsburg, is threatening to pull the plug on a 48-inch television in the team's dressing room as a result.

Hartsburg thinks the team's 8-14-3 mark is related to the luxurious locker room and players' lounge at the United Center.

"There's not the same urgency or focus at home," the second-year coach said. "On the road we go into these crappy little dressing rooms where there are no TVs and no couches and the guys come in, tape their sticks and talk about hockey.

"It's going to change around here, even if we have to change some things in the room."

Sharks sightings

Bernie Nicholls is two points shy of catching Bobby Hull for 26th on the NHL's all-time scoring list. Hull retired with 1,170 points. Nicholls, San Jose's second-leading scorer with 34 points, has 1,168. . . . Darren Turcotte appeared in his 500th career game Monday. Four of his nine goals this season have been game-winners. . . . San Jose, 7-12-3 at home, hosts a Los Angeles team Wednesday that was unbeaten in its last five (4-0-1) before Tuesday's game against New Jersey. . . .

The Sharks are 0-for-5 trying to win a third consecutive game this season. Three times they lost by a 4-3 count after having won successive games. Their other losses after winning two straight were by 5-3 and 6-1 counts. . . . San Jose is 9-5-5 when either Owen Nolan or Jeff Friesen scores a goal. . . . Viktor Kozlov's 101 straight games ranks second all-time among Sharks forwards. Gaetan Duchesne holds the mark with 117 consecutive appearances.

Around the league

Now Playing:

The Flyers last week claimed off waivers defenseman Michel Petit, who wore No. 8 with his previous team, Edmonton, to recognize the number of NHL teams he's played for since arriving in 1982. If Petit has any designs on grabbing No. 9, he'll have to steal it off the back of Flyers' rookie Danius Zubrus. . . . The Toronto Sun recently put this question to fans: Who is the top fighter in the NHL? Washington's Chris Simon won, edging Calgary's Sandy McCarthy by a count of 1,275-1,265. Marty McSorley was a distant third with 454 votes. . . .

Pittsburgh's Mario Lemieux stood firm at the All-Star Game that this is his final NHL season. "I plan to be golfing somewhere in Florida this time next year," said Lemieux, 31, squelching thoughts he'd suit up for Team Canada in the 1998 Winter Olympics. "Maybe I can be a rookie in next year's (old-timer's) game." . . . Penguins teammate Darius Kasparaitis lent his support to Boston's Sheldon Kennedy by recently saying: "Anyone who makes fun of Sheldon Kennedy should be suspended for 10 games. Automatic." &lt;

Latest from the SFGATE homepage:

Click below for the top news from around the Bay Area and beyond. Sign up for our newsletters to be the first to learn about breaking news and more. Go to 'Sign In' and 'Manage Profile' at the top of the page.